


Softly laid plans and stunning revelations

by greatdisorder



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Gift Fic, M/M, Post - Deathly Hallows, Post-it Notes, So much fucking fluff you guys, game timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-23
Updated: 2013-03-23
Packaged: 2017-12-06 04:40:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/731532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greatdisorder/pseuds/greatdisorder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco asks a question a question that throws Theo completely off kilter. Naturally he has to answer in kind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Softly laid plans and stunning revelations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aykayem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aykayem/gifts).



> This fic follows the timeline that's been set while the boys are stuck in Bete Noire, a panfandom RPG on Dreamwidth, so some references might not make a whole lot of sense. However, the setting is a rather minor focus of fic and anyone without a knowledge of the game shouldn't have a problem following it. :3

At first when Theo and Draco started leaving snarky little notes around the house for each other, it had all been part of a larger joke. Some claimed furniture, others banished one of them from an entire room, and most of them contained an insult of some kind, so Theo couldn’t quite help the amused lift of his mouth when he caught sight of one of the small little squares stuck to the bedroom door. Draco’s neat script gave neither threat nor snark, offering instead:

_Good morning. Tea is in the pot, toast is getting cold, and the box on the table is for you._

Theo arched a curious brow, glancing off to the clock hanging from the wall. It was well into mid-morning already—the tea was probably cold too, unless Draco thought to put a warming charm on it—and the blond had probably long since slipped off to tend to things at Hellsing. He tried to think back and find any reason that would be deserving of a mysterious box; there were no holidays that needed celebrating, as far as he could tell(he’d been remarkably good about keeping track of the days despite being rather absorbed into a few interesting books) there was nothing he’d ordered recently that might’ve shown up on their doorstep, and the list of plausible excuses ended right about there. He pulled the note from the door, turning it over in case there happened to be anything written on the back, running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair when he was greeted with blank paper. Strange.

He padded out towards the small kitchen, ignoring the promise of drink and food alike as curiosity drove him to looking for the box in question. It was a simple black box, small enough to fit quite easily in the palm of Theo’s hand and woefully absent of any identifying merchant mark from where it lay innocently next to the teapot. The first thing that Theo thought of was _jewelry box_ , though he dismissed the though rather readily. In all the years they’ve known each other, jewelry wasn’t exactly high on the list of things that they had gifted between themselves. At least, nothing that would fit in such a small box(it certainly wasn’t a watch, anyway, which was the only thing that Theo would expect as far as expensive bits of shine went). Confusion set in where curiosity once sat, reaching for the box and taking it in hand when another note fixed to the table caught his eye. Just two words in Draco’s elegant hand:

_Marry me?_

Theo nearly dropped the box.

Out of everything that he might have expected to find written on the note, that was so far out of his mind as a possibility that it had never even made the list. It wasn’t that Theo refused to entertain the idea more that it never occurred to him as something that he could ever hope to ask for. Not from Draco. Regardless of the feelings they shared, or the things that had happened into this world they’d been unceremoniously pulled into, reality would have to set in again one day. They had duties and responsibilities(though, if he were honest, Draco held them much more than he did) and something like _this_ would have been too much to ask for when Draco had already given him so much. Except now, Theo hadn’t asked for any of it and Draco was still offering it to him anyway, completely throwing him off kilter in a way that the blond must reserve specifically for Theo for how good he was at it.

He swallowed thickly, his eyes moving to the box in his hand and for a moment he couldn’t move. Theo didn’t entertain the notion that this might all be some elaborate joke. Draco occasionally had a cruel sense of humor, but it wasn’t one that he ever really leveled at Theo. Not like this. _Never_ like this. Gods above, was this really happening? The box(and the note that came with it) were surprising, but it was the ring inside that really took Theo’s breath away. There wasn’t anything incredibly elaborate about it—a band of two toned metals, brushed platinum through the center with a smooth finish on either side—and it was exactly the sort of thing that suited Theo; understated but with an elegant edge. Suddenly his mouth felt too dry, his chest too tight, and Theo thought that he was on the brink of a panic attack before a wide grin split across his face. “You bastard,” he breathed to the empty flat, rubbing a hand over his mouth as he stared at the ring, his grin only stretching larger until his face actually hurt. “You sly bastard.”  


He had plans to make.

\--

Draco had been nothing but a mess of nerves and anxiety all bloody day. Talking himself into leaving the ring had taken much longer than he’d care to admit and the moment the flat door had closed behind him that morning, he’d had half a mind to rush in and pocket the thing again before Theo found his way out of the bedroom. This was either the best idea he’d ever had or the worst and it took every ounce of willpower he possessed to force himself down the hall towards the lift. It would be fine, he insisted to himself with a spike of irritation for doubting his own decisions. It would be _fine_.

Only his internal set of reassurances lost a bit of their conviction when Theo failed to show his face in the basement that day.

It wasn’t strange, really, for Theo to decide to miss the day. If he had no potions that needed to be tended to or research that needed to be finished, there really was no reason for Theo to bother wasting the payroll to show up. It hadn’t stopped him in the past when he was bored and had nothing else to do, but it wasn’t any reason to call after him to see what he was up to, either, no matter how sorely Draco might be tempted. It was more likely than not that Theo had fell into the depths of one of the libraries in the city or that he was waffing about spending money on things he that would only hold his attention for a few days at a time before he his it focused on something else. There was nothing about the situation that was cause for alarm. Except, of course, the anxiety that twisted harder in Draco’s stomach the longer his proposal was met with silence.

He forced himself to wait the day out, his phone near at hand on the off chance that Theo might try to ring him up, and his attention worlds away from the work he was supposed to be doing. Luckily, most of it could be taken care of without much of a second though—the perks to doing a task that had long since become habit—and he lingered well past his scheduled time off, desperately trying to find things to keep busy with before he resigned himself to the inevitable: he needed to face the situation he’d created at home, whether he would like the results or not.

The flat was remarkably quiet when he crossed the threshold and the blond paused after he’d softly closed the door behind himself, listening for any sign that Theo might be tucked away in one of the rooms. “Theo?” He called for good measure, though the quiet persisted unbothered. He frowned, still ready to insist to himself that there was likely a good reason for it. It wasn’t unusual for his friend to spend the day out in the city, although Theo usually extended the courtesy of letting Draco _know_. After the mess with Riddle and the very real risk of one of them being dragged back home without warning, they’d both gotten rather good at keeping the other informed that everything was all right.

It wasn’t until he stepped further into the flat that his nervousness really hit a new height. The teapot from this morning still sat on the table, looking very untouched, and next to it lay a small black box. _His_ black box and on it the familiar shape of one of their notes. His brows pulled together, his stomach flipping over sharply as he took a step forward, not wanting to read what was on the note but knowing that he had little other choice in the matter, even as every terrible scenario he could think of ran through his head. What he wouldn’t give for a damned timeturner-

_Yes._

Draco couldn’t do anything more than stare at the lines of Theo’s familiar handwriting, unwittingly holding very near the same stunned posture that Theo had only hours ago, and his heart had managed to raise itself to pound uncomfortably in his throat. Yes. _Yes_. It was amazing how reassuring one simple word could be and he let out a huff of a breath he hadn’t be aware he’d been holding as he pulled the note away and opened the box. The box was the same but the ring inside wasn’t. It was incredibly similar, Draco would give him that, but the one that Draco was holding was a little more flashy, different in just enough ways to suit Draco’s tastes better than Theo’s. A small smile curved on his mouth. “Fucking prat.”

“Oh? And here I thought you’d appreciate it.”

Draco startled, turning sharply on his heel to face the man he never even heard come up. Theo must have been lurking in one of the rooms after all for how quietly he managed to appear, and as much as Draco wanted to scowl in the face of Theo’s smile, he couldn’t really bring himself to. Especially not when his eyes flicked down before he could stop himself, looking for Theo’d left hand. The band was already in place, looking for all the world as if it belonged on his finger, and the warmth that flooded Draco’s chest was more intense and more sudden than he ever would have expected, needing a moment before he could bring his gaze back to the brunettes face, murmuring, “Scare me half to death, why don’t you.”

Theo’s smile grew slowly, his eyes soft and warm as they watched Draco. He had to know the mess he was twisting the blond into by keeping his silence for the day, but even Draco had to admit that it had all been worth the wait. His friend—fiancee? Merlin, wasn’t that something—ignored the comment completely. “I’m having trouble deciding if the notes are romantic or not.”

The smiling was infectious and Draco could feel his own tugging across his mouth. “Are you?”

Theo stepped closer, reaching out to draw Draco into him and the blond was happy to go. “Mm.”

“And?” 

“I think they’ll do.”

The kiss that followed was easily the best that Draco could ever remember having.


End file.
